2011 Christmas Gifts for Art Lovers – artmarketblog.com

That time again art lovers!!! Here is my annual list of top Christmas gifts for art lovers. Feel free to make suggestions as comments.

Syringe Pen from MONA (Museum of Old and New Art)

Is that a syringe? Um, no it’s a pen, branded MONA, in a glass test tube. It’s around 20 cm long. If you’ve been to the Museum you know where the idea came from. If you haven’t been to the Museum, you should.

The “HD-TV”of photo framing. A Fracture is a one-piece picture and frame made from printed glass, that comes with everything you need to mount and display on your wall. Because the entire frame is printed digitally, there are potentially limitless ways you can make your Fracture unique.

THE THING quarterly is an object based publication produced by visual artists Jonn Herschend and Will Rogan. Each issue is conceived of by a different contributor. The object is reproduced, wrapped, and shipped to the subscribers. THE THING Projects is an off-shoot that encompasses a wide range of artworks and events. In subscribing to THE THING you will receive a quarterly periodical in the form of an object. Each year, four artists, writers, musicians or filmmakers are invited to create an everyday object that somehow incorporates text. This object will be reproduced and hand packed at a wrapping party and then mailed to the homes of the subscribers with the help of the United States Postal Service. The subscription price of $200 does not include shipping.

PurePhoto is a new kind of site – a social commerce network – that directly connects art collectors to photographers. We have fused art education, social networking, and buying into a single site. Whether you’re buying your first piece, an established collector, an artist, or an interior designer, PurePhoto makes it easy to discover and purchase new images from all over the world without leaving the comfort of your pajamas. You won’t have to visit 15 galleries, get accosted by a man named Dieter in a black turtleneck or be turned away because you have never heard of the artist. We are revolutionizing art sales by making it easy for everyone to discover, connect and collect.

Now you can buy art by the world’s leading contemporary artists at a price you can afford. Once editions are sold out, you can sell your works to other collectors through the s[edition] marketplace launching soon.

As a collector, you receive regular information directly from the artist, get priority access to new editions and can connect to other collectors.

On September 15th 2008, the day of the the collapse of Lehmans, the worst financial news since 1929, Damien Hirst sold over £60 million of his art, in an auction at Sotheby’s that would total £111 million over two days. It was the peak of the contemporary art bubble, the greatest rise in the financial value of art in the history of the world. One art critic and film-maker was banned by Sotheby’s and Hirst from attending this historic auction: Ben Lewis.
Why?

He had spent the whole of 2008 making a documentary investigating the reasons behind the booming contemporary art market, and they didn’t like what he was finding out… Art critic and film-maker Ben Lewis spent over a year investigating this contemporary art bubble in Europe, America and China and discovered a world of secretive deals, speculation, tax breaks and market manipulation that involved the whole art world – dealers, collectors, galleries, auction houses and even public museums. In the climax of the film, his discoveries lead him to play his own small secret part in the bursting of the contemporary art bubble. Includings interviews with leading dealers, gallerists, auction house specialists, artists and financial analysts.
Shown at the Montreal Film Festival, Vancouver Film Festival, San Francisco Documentary Festival and Tel Aviv Art Film Festival.
Recommended Retail Price £19.99 – but available from Ben’s website for only £14.99, or €17.00 or $24.00 each, plus £2.00 postage and packing in the UK and €4 for Europe and $5 for the USA, Australia and other territories. Payment is via Paypal, though you can pay with all major credit cards too. Please note these DVDs are PAL Region 2
Buy here:
http://www.benlewis.tv/shop/the-great-contemporary-art-bubble-dvds-for-sale/

Poketo is excited to release the Poketo x Gary Baseman limited-edition wallet series, which includes three exclusive wallet designs created from his paintings. The interior images of the wallets were taken from Baseman’s sketchbook archive, where he generates the ideas that eventually become his paintings. Each wallet offers a rare view into the prolific artist’s process from idea to finish, and shows the development of his recent work.

Made of durable vinyl (Double layer for extra strength). Contains 3 slots for credit cards, a bill slot, and a change purse. The wallet is 8.5″ x 3.75″ open, but folds perfectly to fit in your pocket (4.25″ x 3.75″). The wallet ships flat but once you fold it, stays folded. All wallets are limited edition and come with a matching pin and bio card of the artist.

Synopsis: These bookplates (Ex Libris) are printed on acid-free paper and come in an archival document box. There are 250 plates in each box including one that is signed and numbered. Printed by Derriere L’Etoile Studios, NYC.

An historic publishing event! Endorsed by the Louvre and for the first time ever, every painting from the world’s most popular museum is available in one stunning book. All 3,022 paintings on display in the permanent painting collection of the Louvre are presented in full color in this striking, slipcased book.